All the players and support staff of the Indian football squad have tested negative for Covid-19 after arrival in Qatar. They’ve also begun practicing in preparation for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualifiers.
The 28-member Indian national football squad, which arrived in Doha on Wednesday. They had their 10-day quarantine period waived off by the Qatar Football Federation.
They will have a preparatory camp inside a bio-bubble here before its first match on June 3 against hosts Qatar.
“We are grateful to the Qatar FA for the manner they went out of the way and helped us begin our camp in Qatar early.” -AIFF president
India is currently on three points from three matches in Group E. They are still in with a chance of qualifying for the Asian Cup, despite being out of the World Cup qualifiers.
The Indian team played its last group match in November 2019 (losing 1-0 against Oman). It was supposed to take on Qatar at Bhubaneswar in October 2020 but the pandemic forced a postponement of the fixtures.
Strict coronavirus measures for Indian football squad in Qatar
International fans will be unable to attend because of Qatar’s virus mitigation measures. There will be no public events including fan zones.
Social distancing, mask-wearing, and use of Qatar’s contract tracing app and sanitizer will be mandatory.
“Fans will have to undergo rapid PCR or antigen tests up to 72 hours before each match. If it comes out negative they are allowed to receive their ticket,”-Qatari ministry
Fifa said it would work with the Qatari authorities to provide “the safeguards required to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the competition.”
The first-round match will no longer take place and Al Duhail will begin the competition in the second round. The competition format remains otherwise unchanged.
Matches will be held at Qatar’s recently inaugurated Ahmad Bin Ali and Education City stadiums, important test fixtures ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
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